Mobile computing device notification mode determination

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods are described for providing a notification mode determination service. A notification mode determination service may apply various criteria to determine a mode for displaying a notification on a mobile computing device, and may analyze responses to previously displayed notifications in order to determine the criteria to apply, prioritize the application of the criteria, and identify preferred notification modes. Notifications may be displayed using audio feedback, visual feedback, haptic feedback, or combinations thereof, and may be deferred until a particular time or condition is reached. Notification modes may be determined based on factors such as a foreground software application, a type or category of the foreground software application, calendar events, holidays, geolocations, and the like.

BACKGROUND

Generally described, computing devices can be used to exchangeinformation via a network. For example, mobile computing devices mayutilize a network provided by a wireless service provider, or mayutilize networks provided by device users or third parties, tofacilitate the exchange of information. Mobile computing devices maythus be used to facilitate interactions between a user of a mobilecomputing device and other users, other devices, or softwareapplications, which may be executed on the mobile computing device oranother computing device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Throughout the drawings, reference numbers may be re-used to indicatecorrespondence between referenced elements. The drawings are provided toillustrate example embodiments described herein and are not intended tolimit the scope of the disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram depicting an example mobilecomputing device for delivering notifications and monitoring responsesto notifications in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram depicting an illustrative notification modedetermination routine that may be implemented by a notification modedetermination service in accordance with aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram fixing an illustrative notification modecriteria determination routine that may be implemented by a notificationmode determination service in accordance with aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are pictorial diagrams depicting illustrative userinterfaces for displaying and modifying notification mode criteria inaccordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Generally described, aspects of the present disclosure relate to theoperation of mobile computing devices. More specifically, aspects of thepresent disclosure are directed to systems, methods, andcomputer-readable media related to managing and customizingnotifications that are generated by a mobile computing device. A mobilecomputing device may generate notifications to inform a device user ofevents related to operation of the mobile device or execution ofsoftware applications on the mobile device. Illustratively, such eventscan include, but are not limited to, an incoming telephone call,upcoming appointment, receipt of a text message or social mediainteraction, that the user is approaching a waypoint or other geographicfeature (e.g., driving instructions to turn at an approachingintersection), that an alarm or timer has reached its appointed time,application-specific notifications (e.g., an account statement isavailable, a new game level has been downloaded, etc.), and other suchnotifications.

As mobile computing devices are associated with additionalfunctionality, the quantity and frequency of notifications provided tousers increases as well. To assist users with managing notifications,mobile computing devices may be configured with management levelfunctions, such as “do not disturb” or “airplane mode” functions, thatdisable some or all notifications associated with individual userdevices. Such management level functions may be configured, for example,by an operating system on the mobile computing device. The mobileoperating system, or individual software applications (“apps”) on themobile computing device, may also allow users to enable or disablenotifications on an app-by-app basis. However, these approaches provideonly a limited degree of control over notifications in terms of fullyenabling or fully disabling notifications at an application or mobiledevice level. Uses of mobile computing devices may therefore receiveunwanted notifications, or may receive notifications at inconvenienttimes or in inconvenient ways. For example, in some embodiments, a usermay be accessing a software application and receive a notificationrelated to another software application that either interferes with orinhibits the currently desired functionality.

To address the above-identified issues, a notification modedetermination service may be implemented on a mobile computing device.In various aspects, the notification mode determination service mayenable additional control over the presentation of notifications on amobile device or set of mobile devices. For example, the notificationdetermination service can configure whether, when, and how notificationsare presented on the mobile computing device. In another example, thenotification mode determination service can automatically determine howvarious notifications will be presented to the user based onnotification criteria and historical responses to notifications. Thefunctionality of the mobile computing device may therefore be improvedby more effectively managing notifications, thereby reducing conflictsin the operation of software applications on the mobile computing devicewhile improving receipt of desired notifications.

It will be understood that the notification mode determination servicedescribed herein addresses a technical problem that specifically arisesin the realm of computer networks and, in particular, addresses aproblem that arises in the realm of network-connected mobile computingdevices. It will further be understood that the technical solutiondescribed herein is not analogous to any practice that occurred prior tofiling of the present application, and that the notification modedetermination service improves the performance of a mobile computingdevice at the task of displaying relevant information. By implementingthe notification mode determination service, a mobile computing devicemay identify and present relevant information more quickly andefficiently, thereby reducing the amount of computing resources (e.g.,memory, processing power, bandwidth, etc.) required to perform thistask.

The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages will becomemore readily appreciated as the same become better understood byreference to the following detailed description, when taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram depicting a general architecture ofa mobile computing device 100, which includes an arrangement of computersoftware and hardware components that may be used to implement aspectsof the present disclosure. The mobile computing device 100 may includemore (or fewer) elements than those shown in FIG. 1. It is notnecessary, however, that all of these elements be shown in order toprovide an enabling disclosure.

As illustrated, the mobile computing device 100 includes a processor102, input/output devices 104, a network interface 106, and a data store108, all of which may communicate with one another by way of acommunication bus 112. The network interface 106 may provideconnectivity to one or more networks or computing systems and, as aresult, may enable the mobile computing device 100 to receive and sendinformation and instructions from and to other computing systems orservices. In some embodiments, the notification mode determinationmodule 126 may be configured to process notification requests receivedvia the network interface 106.

The processor 102 may also communicate to and from a memory 120. Thememory 120 may contain computer program instructions (grouped as modulesor components in some embodiments) that the processor 102 may execute inorder to implement one or more embodiments. The memory 120 generallyincludes RAM, ROM, and/or other persistent, auxiliary, or non-transitorycomputer readable media. The memory 120 may store an operating system122 that provides computer program instructions for use by the processor102 in the general administration and operation of the mobile computingdevice 100. The memory 120 may further store specific computerexecutable instructions and other information (which may be referred toherein as “modules”) for implementing aspects of the present disclosure.For example, the memory 120 may include a user interface module 124,which may perform various operations with regard to displaying the userinterfaces described herein. For example, the user interface module 124may generate all or part of the user interfaces described with referenceto FIGS. 4A-4B. As a further example, the memory 120 may include anotification mode determination module 126, which may implement aspectsof the present disclosure such as carrying out a notification modedetermination routine 200 and/or a notification mode criteriadetermination routine 300, as described in more detail below withreference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

In some embodiments, the memory 120 may further include softwareapplications 128, which may perform various functions includinggenerating notification requests. In various embodiments, the softwareapplications 128 may include third-party applications as well asapplications that are native to the mobile computing device 100. Forexample, the software applications 128 may include geolocation apps,timer apps, calendar apps, messaging apps, social media apps, games,e-commerce apps, and the like. In further embodiments, the memory 120may include information regarding the software applications 128, such asinformation identifying a particular software application 128 as beingin the foreground, or information associating software applications 128with categories.

The memory 120 may further include notification criteria 132, calendarinformation 134, geolocation information 136, and historicalnotification response data 138, which may be loaded into the memory 120as various operations are performed. In some embodiments, thenotification criteria 132, calendar information 134, geolocationinformation 136, and historical notification response data 138 may beobtained from the data store 108. In other embodiments, some or all ofthe notification criteria 132, calendar information 134, geolocationinformation 136, and historical notification response data 138 may beobtained from external data stores via the network interface 106, or maybe obtained via the input/output devices 104.

While the operating system 122, user interface module 124, andnotification mode determination module 126 are illustrated as distinctmodules in the memory 120, in some embodiments, one or more of the userinterface module 124, and notification mode determination module 126 maybe incorporated as a module in the operating system 122 or anotherapplication or module, and as such, separate modules may not be requiredto implement some embodiments.

It will be recognized that many of the components described in FIG. 1are optional and that embodiments of the mobile computing device 100 mayor may not combine components. Furthermore, components need not bedistinct or discrete. Components may also be reorganized. For example,the mobile computing device 100 may be represented in a single physicaldevice or, alternatively, may be split into multiple physical devices.In some embodiments, components illustrated as part of the mobilecomputing device 100 (such as the input/output devices 104) mayadditionally or alternatively be included in other computing devices,such that some aspects of the present disclosure may be performed by themobile computing device 100 while other aspects are performed by anothercomputing device.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram depicting an illustrative notification modedetermination routine 200 that may be implemented in accordance withaspects of the present disclosure. The notification mode determinationroutine 200 may be implemented, for example, by the mobile computingdevice 100 of FIG. 1, by a module or component of the mobile computingdevice 100 (e.g., the notification mode determination module 126), or byanother computing device.

At block 202, a request to deliver a user notification is received.Illustratively, the request may include information such as a source ofthe user notification, a type or category of the notification message(e.g., calendar events, driving instructions, etc.), a priority,information identifying a software application, or other suchinformation. The request may further include content, such as text,images, audio, video, interactive media, links, buttons, prompts, userinterface controls, and the like. In some embodiments, the notificationrequest may be received from an external source. For example, a requestmay be received from a wireless service provider via a wirelesstelecommunications network to notify the user of an incoming telephonecall. As a further example, a request may be received from an externaldevice (e.g., a “smart” doorbell) via Wi-Fi®, Bluetooth®, or otherwireless or wired network to notify the user of an event associated withthe external device. Still further, a request may be received to displaya notification associated with a message pushed or pulled from anexternal server (e.g., a status update from a package tracking service).In other embodiments, the notification request may be generated locally.For example, a notification request may be generated by a softwareapplication 128 that is executing on the mobile computing device 100,such as a social media application, an application that provides walkingor driving directions, or a calendar application.

At block 204, user notification modes are obtained. User notificationmodes generally include one or more types of feedback that may beapplied, as well as one or more criteria for determining whether toapply them. For example, the user notification mode may include criteriathat are satisfied when a media player application is executing in theforeground on the mobile computing device. The user notification modemay further identify a particular type or mode of feedback to use (ornot use) when delivering a notification under such conditions.Illustratively, the types of feedback may include, for example, audiofeedback, visual feedback, haptic feedback (e.g., vibrations, pulses,taps, and the like), or combinations thereof. In some embodiments, a“silent” notification mode may enable visual and/or haptic feedbackwhile disabling or setting a maximum threshold level for audio feedback.In other embodiments, a user notification mode may specify that one ormore types of feedback are to be provided initially, and then additionaltypes of feedback are to be provided according to whether a criterion issatisfied. For example, the user notification mode may specify thathaptic and visual feedback are to be provided initially, and then audiofeedback is to provided (and, in some embodiments, may graduallyincrease in volume) if the user does not respond.

In some embodiments, the user notification mode may be a deferrednotification mode, which may specify that one or more notificationfeedback should be deferred until a future time or until some othercriterion or criteria has been satisfied. For example, the mode mayspecify that notifications should be deferred until a foregroundapplication on the mobile computing device is no longer in theforeground. In such an example, a user may continue to participate in avideoconference, watch a movie, play a game, share the user's screen,and so forth without interruption from notifications.

As further examples, the criteria associated with a deferrednotification mode may specify that feedback should be silent or deferredif the user's calendar indicates the user is in an important meeting, ifthe mobile computing device is at a particular location (e.g., a schoolor workplace), if the device's position changes and rate of movementindicate the user is driving or flying, and so forth. The criteria mayfurther specify multiple conditions or exceptions. For example, thecriteria may specify that notifications should be silent if the mobilecomputing device is at a work location, but audible if the current timeis between noon and 1:00 p.m.

In some embodiments, the notification modes can also include informationthat establishes a (relative or absolute) priority between differentnotification modes, and thereby establishes which notification modesshould take precedence over others. For example, a first notificationmode can specify that notifications should be deferred if the locationof the mobile device is associated with a “home” designation and thecurrent time is between 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., and a secondnotification mode can specify that notifications should be displayed ifthe foreground application on the mobile computing device is a webbrowser. A prioritization may be obtained that causes the second mode totake precedence over the first, such that the user will receivenotifications if browsing the web at home after 9:00 p.m., but otherwisenotifications will be deferred until 6:00 a.m.

In some embodiments, a user notification mode can specify a category ofapplication. For example, a notification mode may specify thatnotifications should provide only haptic feedback when a health andfitness application is in the foreground. The user may thus use avariety of health and fitness applications without needing to specifynotification settings on an app-by-app basis. In further embodiments, auser notification mode may specify criteria that are satisfied based ona source of the notification, content of the notification, or othercharacteristics of the notification that is requested at block 202.

At block 206, information may be obtained from various sources to beused when evaluating the criteria obtained at block 204. For example,the user's calendar may be obtained from a data store (e.g., data store108 of FIG. 1), information about a foreground application may beobtained from an operating system (e.g., operating system 122),geolocation data may be obtained from a geolocation sensor, the currentdate and time may be obtained, and so forth. As described in more detailbelow, the obtained information may be used to determine, for example,whether one or more of the criteria obtained at block 204 are satisfied.In some embodiments, a determination may be made as to what informationis required to evaluate the criteria, and information may be obtainedaccordingly. One skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that theinformation utilized to evaluate the criteria is not limited to theillustrative examples in the present application. Additionally, theinformation obtained from the various sources does not necessarily haveto match the criteria such that additional or alternative informationmay be collected for later use or, in some cases, may not be utilizeddirectly to evaluate the criteria.

At block 208, in some embodiments, the user notification modes may beprioritized. As described above, user notification modes may includeinformation that establishes a relative or absolute priority betweendifferent modes, and this information may be used to establish whetheror which notification modes should take precedence. In some embodimentsthe prioritization may rank the user modes, such that a particular modeis evaluated first, another is evaluated second, and so forth. In otherembodiments, the prioritization may specify buckets or categories ofpriorities (e.g., high, medium, and low priorities). For example, aprioritization may be determined specifying that user notification modesA, B, and C can be evaluated in any order, but that all three of themshould be evaluated before any of modes D, E, and F are evaluated.

At block 210, a user notification mode may be selected. In embodimentswhere the notification modes are prioritized, the selected usernotification mode may be the highest-priority mode that has not yet beenevaluated. In other embodiments, a user notification mode may beselected arbitrarily, or may be selected according to criteria such as amost recently applied notification mode, most frequently usednotification mode, and so forth.

At decision block 212, a determination may be made as to whether thecriteria associated with the selected user notification mode aresatisfied. For example, the user notification mode may specify thatnotification feedback should be deferred if a particular application(e.g., a game) is in the foreground, or that only visual feedback shouldbe applied if the device's built-in camera application is in theforeground. It will be understood that the notification modedetermination routine 200, and not the foreground application,determines whether a notification mode based on the foregroundapplication applies and takes precedence. For example, two differentnotification requests may result in different types of feedback beingprovided, even though both requests are received while the sameapplication is in the foreground, because the second notificationrequest satisfied the criteria of a higher-priority notification mode.

If the determination at decision block 212 is that the criteria aresatisfied for the selected user notification node, then the notificationmode determination routine 200 branches to block 218, where therequested notification may be presented in the notification modespecified by the satisfied criterion.

If the determination at decision block 212 is that the criteria for theselected user notification mode are not satisfied, then at decisionblock 214 a determination may be made as to whether all of thenotification modes have been evaluated. If not all of the notificationmodes have been evaluated, then the notification mode determinationroutine 200 returns to block 210, selects the next-highest-priority usernotification mode, and iterates through blocks 210-214 until either auser notification mode is found having satisfied criteria, or all of theuser notification modes have been evaluated. For example, a second usernotification mode may specify that a haptic feedback mode should be usedif the foreground application is a social networking application. If thedetermination at decision block 212 is that the criterion is satisfied,then the notification mode determination routine 200 branches to block218, where the requested notification may be presented using the type(s)of feedback specified by the app category notification mode.

As a further example, a user notification mode may specify that a screensharing function is active on the mobile computing device. A screensharing function may illustratively cause a display of the mobilecomputing device to be shared or displayed on another computing deviceor application, such as a projector, television, or videoconferencingsoftware. If the determination at decision block 212 is that thecriteria are satisfied, then the notification mode determination routine200 branches to block 218, where the requested notification may bepresented using the types of feedback (e.g., deferred, haptic only, homescreen display only) specified by the screen sharing notification mode.

As a still further example, a user notification mode may specify that acalendar event on the user's calendar spans the current time, that thecurrent date is a particular day of the week or holiday (whose calendardate may vary), that a current event on the user's calendar falls withina particular category of events (e.g., work meetings or social events),includes a particular event participant, takes place at a particularevent location, or other related criteria.

Still further, a user notification mode may specify ageolocation-related criterion. For example, the criterion may specifythat certain or all notifications should be silent if the mobilecomputing device is at a library. As a further example, the criterionmay specify that certain or all notifications should be deferred if thedevice is at a movie theater or concert hall. As still further examples,the criterion may specify a notification mode if the device is moving ata high rate of speed (e.g., a rate associated with driving or flying),moving along a particular path (e.g., a train or subway track), enteringor leaving a particular region, within range of a particular network(e.g., a Wi-Fi network associated with a home location), etc.

It will be understood that many other criteria and determinations arewithin the scope of the present disclosure. For example, a determinationmay be made as to whether the current date is a public holiday, and ifso a particular notification mode may be applied. As further examples,notification modes may be determined based on the sender or content ofthe notification, the current time and/or day of the week, the number ofnotifications received within a particular time period, and so forth.

If the determination at decision block 214 is that all notificationmodes have been evaluated (and that none of the notification modecriteria have been satisfied), then at block 216 a default notificationmode may be specified. In some embodiments, the default notificationmode may be to continue using a current notification mode. In furtherembodiments, a default criterion may be obtained and may be assigned alowest priority, such that the default criterion is always satisfied,but is only invoked if no other criterion is satisfied. The defaultcriterion and/or default mode may be obtained, for example, at block216, block 204, or prior to execution of the routine 200. In someembodiments, the notification mode determination routine 200 maydelegate presentation of the notification to the operating system, inwhich case the notification mode determination routine 200 may end atblock 216.

At block 218, as discussed above, the requested notification isprocessed using the determined notification mode. In some embodiments,the carrying out of block 218 may be delayed in accordance with adeferred notification mode. For example, the presentation of therequested notification may be delayed until a foreground application hasbeen relegated to the background, until the mobile computing device hasleft a particular geolocation, or until another deferred notificationcriterion has been satisfied. In such embodiments, a determination maybe made as to whether the criterion has been satisfied, and if not thenotification mode determination routine 200 may iterate, sleep, orotherwise delay presentation of the notification until the appointedtime or condition, and then present the notification once the criterionhas been satisfied. In some embodiments, the notification mode mayspecify that the notification is not to be displayed at all, and block218 may be omitted. In other embodiments, the content of thenotification may be transformed according to the determined notificationmode. For example, a notification containing text may be converted fromvisual feedback to audio feedback using a text-to-speech routine. Asfurther examples, a notification containing text and images may besimplified to include only text, or an audio notification may betransformed into haptic feedback (which may or may not be based on theaudio). The notification mode determination routine 200 then ends.

In various embodiments, the blocks of the notification modedetermination routine 200 may be combined, omitted, or carried out invarious orders. For example, blocks 202, 204, 206, and 208 may becarried out in any order. As a further example, blocks 204 and 206 maybe combined. The notification mode determination routine 200 is thusunderstood to be illustrative and not limiting.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram depicting an illustrative notification modecriteria determination routine 300 that may be implemented in accordancewith aspects of the present disclosure. The notification mode criteriadetermination routine 300 may be implemented, for example, by the mobilecomputing device 100 of FIG. 1, by a module or component of the mobilecomputing device 100 (e.g., the notification mode determination module126), or by another computing device.

At block 302, historical responses to displayed notifications may beobtained. Illustratively, the historical responses may be obtained froma data store, such as the data store 108 of FIG. 1. Generally described,historical responses may include information that attempts tocharacterize an affinity for a user or groups of users to performdefined actions in response (at least in part) to notifications.Examples of historical information include, but are not limited to, ameasure of response time for user responses to a notification, whetherthe user changed the foreground application within a specified timeinterval of receiving the notification, whether the user changed anaudio volume or other setting on the mobile computing device, includinga measure of the amount changed, whether the user performed an actionassociated with receiving the notification, or other such responses. Invarious embodiments, the historical responses may be the responses of aparticular user, a particular group or demographic of users, responsesto particular notifications, or other sets of responses.

At block 304, information regarding a response to a current notificationmay be obtained. In some embodiments, the response may correspond to anotification displayed by the notification mode determination routine200 of FIG. 2. For example, the notification mode determination routine200 and the notification mode criteria determination routine 300 may becarried out wholly or partially in parallel each time a notificationrequest is processed, and block 304 may be carried out after block 218.In other embodiments, information regarding responses to a number ofrecent notifications may be received and periodically processed as partof integrating the latest responses into the set of historicalresponses. In further embodiments, current or recent responses tonotifications may be stored with the historical responses prior toexecution of the notification mode criteria determination routine 300,and all or part of blocks 302 and 304 may be combined.

At block 306, the information obtained at block 302 and 304 may beanalyzed to identify a potential update to the notification modecriteria, which may be characterized as a correlation between useractivity in the historical information and the notifications that weredisplayed. Illustratively, a pattern may be identified with regard toreceived notifications and corresponding responses. For example, it maybe determined that the user frequently mutes the mobile computingdevice's audio output after receiving a notification during a calendaredmeeting. In various embodiments, a determination may be based upon athreshold number of instances of a user activity, a threshold percentageof notifications that are associated with the user activity (e.g., basedon an amount of time elapsed between the notification and the activity),a statistically significant number or frequency of activities, acategorization of the notification, trend analysis (e.g., that the useractivity is occurring more often or less often), or other techniques. Insome embodiments, machine learning may be used to generate a model basedon the historical responses to displayed notifications. The model maythen be validated by using it to predict the current response. Forexample, a model may be trained on the historical data, and may predictthat the user will respond to a notification from a particular source bydismissing it without reading the content (as determined by the amountof elapsed time between display of the notification and its dismissal).The model's accuracy may then be tested upon display of the nextnotification from the identified source.

A potential update to notification mode criteria, or a new notificationmode, may thus be identified. For example, a notification mode may beidentified in which notifications displayed during meetings aredisplayed using visual or haptic notification modes only. As a furtherexample, it may be determined that the user tends to quickly dismissnotifications that are displayed while a videoconferencing applicationis in the foreground. A potential criterion for a deferred notificationmode may thus be identified, and may specify the deferred notificationmode if the videoconferencing application is in the foreground. Invarious embodiments, machine learning, pattern recognition algorithms,and other such techniques may be used to analyze the response data andidentify potential updates to the notification mode criteria.

In some embodiments, the collection of information related to a responseto a current notification at block 304 may be omitted, and thenotification mode criteria determination routine 300 may process thehistorical response information collected at block 302. For example, thenotification mode criteria determination routine 300 may process a batchof historical responses to identify an initial set of notification modecriteria or may process historical responses in an offline mode ratherthan processing individual user responses as they are obtained andcomparing them to historical responses. In other embodiments, theanalysis at block 306 may be weighted to favor more recent responses tonotifications collected at block 304, such that a change in userbehavior may be detected, and the notification mode criteria may beupdated accordingly. In further embodiments, the collection ofhistorical information at block 302 may be omitted, and the analysis atblock 306 may be based on the collection of information related to aresponse to a current notification at block 304.

In some embodiments, at block 308, the user may be prompted to approveor modify the potential updates to the notification mode criteria. Forexample, the notification mode criteria determination routine 300 maydetect that the user frequently misses (e.g., takes a long time toacknowledge) notifications that are displayed when the user is at a worklocation, and may propose an update to the criteria to displaynotifications using an audio notification mode under the circumstances.In some embodiments, the user may modify the proposed update to include,for example, additional feedback types or criteria. For example, thenotification mode criteria determination routine 300 may propose anupdated notification mode that displays audio feedback only when asocial media application is in the foreground, and the user may modifythe proposed mode to use audio and haptic feedback.

At decision block 310, a determination may be made as to whether theuser approves of the proposed update to the notification mode criteria.If not, then at block 312 information indicating that the user did notapprove may be stored. This information may be used, for example, inorder to prevent the notification mode criteria determination routine300 from prompting the user again with the same proposed update for agiven period of time or until a certain behavior trend is recognized. Ifthe determination is that the user approves, then at block 314 thenotification mode criteria may be updated with a new, changed, ordeleted criterion.

The notification mode criteria determination routine 300 then continuesat decision block 316, wherein determination may be made as to whetherthere are more notification responses to be analyzed. For example, thedetermination may be that the mobile computing device 100 is in anactive mode, and thus further user responses to notifications may beobtainable as they occur. If so, then the notification mode criteriadetermination routine 300 branches to block 304, awaits furtherresponses to notifications, and iterates until there are no furtherresponses to analyze. In some embodiments, all or part of thenotification mode criteria determination routine 300 may be carried outin conjunction with the routine 200 of FIG. 2, such that thepresentation of a notification at block 220 is followed by obtaining aresponse to the same notification at block 304. In other embodiments, asdescribed above, the notification mode criteria determination routine300 may be carried out to generate an initial set of notification modecriteria, which may then be obtained and used by the routine 200. Stillfurther, in some embodiments block 316 may be carried out prior to block308, and a number of potential updates may be identified before the useris prompted to update the notification mode criteria. The user may thusbe presented with several updates to consider (and may approve all,some, or none of them), or may be presented with a “best” potentialupdate or updates that is determined based on multiple responses tonotifications.

In various embodiments, the blocks of the notification mode criteriadetermination routine 300 may be combined, omitted, or carried out invarious orders. For example, blocks 308, 310, and 312 may be omitted,and the notification mode criteria determination routine 300 may thus becarried out without user interaction. As a further example, blocks 302and 304 may be combined. Still further, block 306 may be carried outprior to block 304, and the user response received at block 304 may beused to validate a potential update to the notification mode criteria.The notification mode criteria determination routine 300 is thusunderstood to be illustrative and not limiting.

FIG. 4A is a pictorial diagram of an illustrative user interface 400 fordisplaying and modifying notification mode criteria in accordance withaspects of the present disclosure. The user interface 400 may bedisplayed, for example, on a screen or other display element of acomputing device, such as the mobile computing device 100 depicted inFIG. 1. As illustrated, the user interface 400 may include a defaultnotification mode selector 404, whose selected value 406 may indicatethat notifications are enabled by default. In some embodiments,notifications may be described as “enabled” when all notification modesare permitted, and may otherwise be described in terms of which modesare allowed or restricted. For example, a “vibrate” setting may indicatethat visual and haptic modes are permitted, while a “silent” setting mayindicate that only a visual notification mode may be used.

The user interface 400 may further include app category settings 408,which may enable display and modification of category-specificnotification mode settings 410A-G. For example, a “Media Players”category setting 410A may display that notifications are enabled when anapplication in the “Media Players” category is in the foreground. As afurther example, a “Social Networks” category setting 410C may displaythat notifications are limited to a “vibrate” mode, which may includeboth visual display and haptic feedback. User selection of one of thecategory settings 410A-G may cause display of a second user interface(such as user interface 450, as described in more detail below withreference to FIG. 4B) that enables changing the notification modesetting for the selected category. In some embodiments, the userinterface 400 may enable setting per-app overrides of category-specificnotification mode settings. For example, the user interface 400 mayenable limiting the “Social Networks” category to “vibrate”notifications, but allowing a particular social networking app tooverride this setting and provide audio notifications.

In various embodiments, the user interface 400 may include more, fewer,or different controls for displaying and/or modifying notification modecriteria. For example, the category settings 410A-G may be implementedas sliders, checkboxes, or other user interface elements. As a furtherexample, the settings may be implemented by specifying a list ofcategories for which a silent mode is preferred, a list of categoriesfor which a vibrate mode is preferred, and so forth. Still further, theuser interface 400 may include additional controls for viewing ormodifying the default settings. The user interface 400 depicted in FIG.4A is thus understood to be illustrative and not limiting.

FIG. 4B is a pictorial diagram of an illustrative user interface 450 fordisplaying and modifying notification mode criteria for a particularapplication category, in accordance with aspects of the presentdisclosure. The user interface 450 may be displayed, for example, on ascreen or other display element of a computing device, such as themobile computing device 100 depicted in FIG. 1. In some embodiments, theuser interface 450 (or a similar user interface) may be provided fordisplaying and modifying default notification mode settings.

As illustrated, the user interface 450 includes an application categorydescriptor 452. In some embodiments, the user interface 450 furtherincludes controls for selecting or specifying which apps to include inthe category. For example, the application category descriptor 452 mayindicate that the displayed notification mode criteria apply to the“News” category of apps, and the user interface 450 may includecheckboxes, lists, or other controls that enable user selection of appsto include in (or exclude from) the “News” category. The illustrateduser interface 450 further includes category-specific notification modesettings 454. The notification mode settings 454 include a defaultnotification mode setting 456, for which a “vibrate” (haptic feedback)mode has been selected. The default notification mode may be used, forexample, if none of the criteria specified in the user interface 450(e.g., by settings 460A-C, 464, 466, or 468A-B) are satisfied.

The notification mode settings 454 further include an alternatenotification mode setting 458, which specifies that a “defer” modeshould be used as the alternate mode. In some embodiments, an alternatenotification mode may be specified with regard to individual criteria orsets of criteria, and an additional alternate notification mode or modesmay be specified with regard to other criteria. For example, an audionotification mode may be specified when the device is at a firstlocation, and a deferred notification mode may be specified when thedevice is at a second location. In other embodiments, a notificationmode may be specified for each criterion (or specified for sets ofcriteria) rather than specifying default and alternate notificationmodes.

The notification mode settings 454 further include time-based criteria460A-C, which specify days of the week and times of day at which thealternate notification mode is to be used. For example, the time-basedcriterion 460A specifies that the alternate (deferred) notification modeis to be used on weekdays between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m., and thetime-based criterion 460B specifies that the alternate mode is to beused on weekends between 6:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. In some embodiments, atime-based criterion may override or be prioritized above othertime-based criteria, or a more specific time-based criterion mayoverride more general criteria. For example, criterion 460C may specifythat an alternate mode is to be used on holidays between 6:00 a.m. and11:00 a.m., and this criterion may be applied instead of the moregeneral criterion 460A that specifies the mode used on weekdays. Invarious embodiments, the user interface 450 may enable sorting orotherwise specifying priorities for time-based criteria relative to eachother, or may prioritize more specific criteria (e.g., ones that specifyholidays or particular days) over more general criteria (e.g., ones thatspecify weekdays or weekends). Additionally, in some embodiments, thenotification mode settings 454 may include an add time-based criterioncontrol 462, which may enable creating additional time-based criteria.

In some embodiments, the notification mode settings 454 may includecriteria based on calendar events, such as the calendar event criterion464. The calendar event criterion 464 may allow the user to specify thatthe alternate notification mode is to be used when a calendar event isin progress (e.g., when the calendar event spans the time at which thenotification is received or delivered). In further embodiments, thecriteria may relate to events associated with a particular category,location, participant, timeframe (e.g., during business hours), or othercriteria for specifying particular events or sets of events. In stillfurther embodiments, event-based criteria may be combined withtime-based criteria, location-based criteria, or other criteria, and mayspecify, for example, a first notification mode to use when both anevent-based criterion and a location-based criterion are satisfied, asecond notification mode to use when only the location-based criterionis satisfied, and so forth.

In some embodiments, the notification mode settings 454 may includecriteria based on a mode or setting of the mobile computing device 100,such as an “airplane mode” that disables network communications, avirtual private network (VPN) mode, a private browsing mode, or otherdevice setting. For example, the notification mode settings 454 mayinclude an airplane mode setting 466, which (if selected) indicates thatthe alternate notification mode should be used when the device is inairplane mode. As described above, in some embodiments, the criteriabased on device settings may be combined with other criteria orprioritized over other criteria.

The notification mode settings 454 may further include location-basedcriteria, such as location criteria 468A-B. The location criteria 468A-Bmay specify, for example, that a particular notification mode is to beused when the user is at a particular location, such as a movie theater,library, school, workplace, or other place. In some embodiments, adifferent notification mode may be specified for each location. Thenotification mode settings 454 may further include an add location-basedcriterion control 470, which may enable the user to create additionallocation-based criteria.

In some embodiments, the user interface 450 may enable the user tochange the order in which notification mode settings 454 are displayed,and thereby indicate an order or priority in which the notification modesettings 454 should be applied. For example, the user interface 450 mayallow the user to drag individual notification mode settings 454, orgroups of notification mode settings 454, to rearrange them. In otherembodiments, the user interface 450 may allow the user to specify, forexample, a high, medium, or low priority for each of the notificationmode settings 454, may allow the user to specify exceptions, or mayotherwise allow the user to specify how multiple criteria are to beapplied.

It will be understood that FIGS. 4A and 4B are provided for purposes ofexample, and that various interfaces containing more, fewer, ordifferent elements are within the scope of the present disclosure. Forexample, the user interface 400 may display more or fewer categorysettings, or may display additional “global” or default settings. As afurther example, as described above, the user interface 450 may enablespecifying a priority of settings (e.g., by dragging and reorderingindividual setting controls or groups of controls). As a furtherexample, the user interface 450 may enable specifying more than onealternate mode 458 and criterion 460-468.

It is to be understood that not necessarily all objects or advantagesmay be achieved in accordance with any particular embodiment describedherein. Thus, for example, those skilled in the art will recognize thatcertain embodiments may be configured to operate in a manner thatachieves or optimizes one advantage or group of advantages as taughtherein without necessarily achieving other objects or advantages as maybe taught or suggested herein.

All of the processes described herein may be embodied in, and fullyautomated via, software code modules, including one or more specificcomputer-executable instructions, that are executed by a computingsystem. The computing system may include one or more computers orprocessors. The code modules may be stored in any type of non-transitorycomputer-readable medium or other computer storage device. Some or allthe methods may be embodied in specialized computer hardware.

Many other variations than those described herein will be apparent fromthis disclosure. For example, depending on the embodiment, certain acts,events, or functions of any of the algorithms described herein can beperformed in a different sequence, can be added, merged, or left outaltogether (e.g., not all described acts or events are necessary for thepractice of the algorithms). Moreover, in certain embodiments, acts orevents can be performed concurrently, e.g., through multi-threadedprocessing, interrupt processing, or multiple processors or processorcores or on other parallel architectures, rather than sequentially. Inaddition, different tasks or processes can be performed by differentmachines and/or computing systems that can function together.

The various illustrative logical blocks and modules described inconnection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented orperformed by a machine, such as a processing unit or processor, adigital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integratedcircuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or otherprogrammable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discretehardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform thefunctions described herein. A processor can be a microprocessor, but inthe alternative, the processor can be a controller, microcontroller, orstate machine, combinations of the same, or the like. A processor caninclude electrical circuitry configured to process computer-executableinstructions. In another embodiment, a processor includes an FPGA orother programmable device that performs logic operations withoutprocessing computer-executable instructions. A processor can also beimplemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combinationof a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one ormore microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suchconfiguration. Although described herein primarily with respect todigital technology, a processor may also include primarily analogcomponents. A computing environment can include any type of computersystem, including, but not limited to, a computer system based on amicroprocessor, a mainframe computer, a digital signal processor, aportable computing device, a device controller, or a computationalengine within an appliance, to name a few.

Conditional language such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might” or“may,” unless specifically stated otherwise, are otherwise understoodwithin the context as used in general to convey that certain embodimentsinclude, while other embodiments do not include, certain features,elements and/or steps. Thus, such conditional language is not generallyintended to imply that features, elements and/or steps are in any wayrequired for one or more embodiments or that one or more embodimentsnecessarily include logic for deciding, with or without user input orprompting, whether these features, elements and/or steps are included orare to be performed in any particular embodiment.

Disjunctive language such as the phrase “at least one of X, Y, or Z,”unless specifically stated otherwise, is otherwise understood with thecontext as used in general to present that an item, term, etc., may beeither X, Y, or Z, or any combination thereof (e.g., X, Y, and/or Z).Thus, such disjunctive language is not generally intended to, and shouldnot, imply that certain embodiments require at least one of X, at leastone of Y, or at least one of Z to each be present.

Any process descriptions, elements or blocks in the flow diagramsdescribed herein and/or depicted in the attached figures should beunderstood as potentially representing modules, segments, or portions ofcode which include one or more executable instructions for implementingspecific logical functions or elements in the process. Alternateimplementations are included within the scope of the embodimentsdescribed herein in which elements or functions may be deleted, executedout of order from that shown, or discussed, including substantiallyconcurrently or in reverse order, depending on the functionalityinvolved as would be understood by those skilled in the art.

Unless otherwise explicitly stated, articles such as “a” or “an” shouldgenerally be interpreted to include one or more described items.Accordingly, phrases such as “a device configured to” are intended toinclude one or more recited devices. Such one or more recited devicescan also be collectively configured to carry out the stated recitations.For example, “a processor configured to carry out recitations A, B andC” can include a first processor configured to carry out recitation Aworking in conjunction with a second processor configured to carry outrecitations B and C.

What is claimed is:
 1. A mobile computing device comprising: a datastore configured to store computer-executable instructions; and aprocessor in communication with the data store, wherein thecomputer-executable instructions, when executed by the processor,configure the processor to: receive, from an external source, a requestto display a requested notification; obtain a notification mode, thenotification mode specifying at least a first criterion associated witha designated foreground application and a first feedback type; identifya current foreground application executing by an operating environmentof the mobile computing device; determine, based at least in part onevaluation of the first criterion and the current foregroundapplication, that the requested notification should be displayed inaccordance with the first feedback type; and responsive to thedetermination, cause display of the requested notification in accordancewith the first feedback type.
 2. The mobile computing device of claim 1,wherein the first feedback type comprises one or more of audiblefeedback, visual feedback, haptic feedback, or deferred feedback.
 3. Themobile computing device of claim 1, wherein the first criterionassociated with the designated foreground application is based at leastin part on a category of the designated foreground application.
 4. Themobile computing device of claim 1, wherein the notification modespecifies use of the first feedback type when the designated foregroundapplication is in the foreground.
 5. The mobile computing device ofclaim 1, wherein the mobile computing device determines the firstfeedback type based at least in part on evaluating the first criterionagainst one or more attributes of the requested notification.
 6. Acomputer-implemented method under control of one or more computingdevices executing specific computer-executable instructions, thecomputer-implemented method comprising: receiving a request to display arequested notification on a mobile computing device; obtainingnotification mode criteria, wherein individual notification modecriteria specify a feedback type; determining that the mobile computingdevice satisfies a first criterion of the notification mode criteria;and causing display of the first notification on the mobile computingdevice in accordance with the feedback type specified by the firstcriterion.
 7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, whereindetermining that the mobile computing device satisfies the firstcriterion comprises determining that a first software application isexecuting in the foreground on the mobile computing device.
 8. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 6, wherein determining that themobile computing device satisfies the first criterion comprises:identifying, from calendar information stored on the mobile computingdevice, a calendar event; and determining that the calendar event spansa current time.
 9. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, whereindetermining that the mobile computing device satisfies the firstcriterion comprises determining that a screen sharing function isenabled on the mobile computing device.
 10. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 6, wherein determining that the mobile computing devicesatisfies the first criterion comprises determining that a geolocationof the mobile computing device satisfies the first criterion.
 11. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 6 further comprising: obtaining aprioritization of the notification mode criteria; determining that themobile computing device satisfies a second criterion of the notificationmode criteria; and determining that a priority of the first criterion ishigher than a priority of the second criterion.
 12. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 6 further comprising: identifying aresponse to the display of the first notification; and determining,based at least in part on the response to the display of the firstnotification, a user preference for a different feedback type.
 13. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 12 further comprising, in responseto determining the user preference for a different feedback type,updating the first criterion to specify the different feedback type. 14.The computer-implemented method of claim 13 further comprising: causingdisplay, on the mobile computing device, of a prompt to update thefeedback type specified by the first criterion; and receiving a responseto the display of the prompt that indicates the feedback type should beupdated.
 15. The computer-implemented method of claim 12 furthercomprising: in response to determining the user preference for adifferent feedback type: identifying a second criterion that isassociated with the different feedback type; and modifying priorityinformation such that a priority for the second criterion is higher thana priority for the first criterion.
 16. The computer-implemented methodof claim 12, wherein the user preference is determined based at least inpart on historical responses to displays of notifications.
 17. Anon-transient computer-readable medium containing computer-executableinstructions that, when executed by a processor, configure the processorto: receive a request to display a notification on a mobile computingdevice; determine that a current status of the mobile computing devicesatisfies a criterion specified by a first notification mode of aplurality of notification modes; and cause generation of thenotification on the mobile computing device in accordance with afeedback type specified by the first notification mode.
 18. Thenon-transient computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the firstnotification mode includes criteria that specify one or more of aforeground application, calendar event, holiday, or geolocation.
 19. Thenon-transient computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein thecriterion specifies a plurality of time periods, and wherein thedetermination that the current status of the mobile computing devicesatisfies the criterion is based at least in part on a determinationthat a current time is within a first time period of the plurality oftime periods.
 20. The non-transient computer-readable medium of claim17, wherein the computer-executable instructions further configure theprocessor to determine the criterion based at least in part onhistorical responses to displays of notifications.